


Puppy Love

by D_N_Arielle



Series: Sheith Twitter Threads [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Disaster Gays, Do not touch butts without permission, Fluff, Kosmo - Freeform, M/M, Misunderstandings, Puppies, SHEITH - Freeform, Super Soft, adorable idiots, butt touching, meet cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:35:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23334727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/D_N_Arielle/pseuds/D_N_Arielle
Summary: What's better than one adorable puppy?
Relationships: Keith & Shiro (Voltron), Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Series: Sheith Twitter Threads [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1678102
Kudos: 50





	Puppy Love

**Author's Note:**

> From my thread fics on Twitter! Follow me for up-to-date Sheith!

There wasn’t a lot in life that Keith was afraid to try. His idiot for a friend made him go free-hand rock climbing, paragliding and cave diving all in the same day. Another friend of his taught Keith how to flambé ice cream without setting an entire kitchen on fire and damn he actually ended up with quite a nice dessert!

So why, with his plethora of experience, was the idea of going to the dog park too much to handle?

Keith had gotten a desperate call from his mother just a few days ago… there was some sort of _beast_ living underneath her porch. So of course Keith, being the doting son that he was, headed over to check things out. What this fearsome beast turned out to be was a very hungry and scared puppy.

They got him cleaned up, it was definitely a ‘him’, filled his belly with yummy food before the poor thing just passed out in Keith’s arms. He couldn’t have been more than a few months old, yet the creature’s capacity to trust in Keith nearly broke his heart… So he took the little furbeast home.

Krolia had offered of course, but Keith knew she was busy with work and needed to travel, which wasn’t the best environment for a puppy. Keith reassured his mother that he could take care of it without any issue.

Well, there was an issue alright.

The puppy was _massive_ even at such a young age and needed to go for regular runs in the park. Thankfully, there was a pretty decent place only about a block away that was off-leash friendly… and overly friendly in other ways.

Keith wasn’t a stranger to the bar scene, Lance usually dragged him off to get drunk once a week or so, and there were quite a few, ahem, flirty individuals. So on that first outing to the park Keith threw on a pair of jogging shorts and a tank top so he could get in a bit of a run.

He was not expecting to have his butt pinched.

It shocked the hell of him sure, but what was even more shocking? The snickering little old ladies that unapologetically commented TO HIS FACE about how lovely his behind was!

Keith was dumbfounded that was for sure. He wanted to tell them off, how it was rude to touch strangers, but Keith’s new puppy chose that moment to come bounding over and leap up onto the stunned new owner.

Okay, maybe this was just a one-off chance? Keith was sure nothing like this would ever happen again… 

Except it did, the _next_ day. 

Keith opted for an early morning jog in long leggings and long-sleeved shirt. After a few circuits (and getting chased by his puppy for a while), Keith bent down to stretch out before starting off again…

… and someone had the audacity to pat his butt.

Sure, Keith could be a bit of a firecracker, he wasn’t particularly tall, built quite slim yet still muscular. If people thought they could take advantage of that they had another thing coming!

Except… No one was there? Keith turned his head from left to right trying to figure out who was the culprit, when he heard laughter coming from a pair of older male joggers that had passed him by. Was it them?! But he had no proof and unfortunately he couldn’t afford to get kicked out of this park for causing a scene.

This went on every single day for an entire week and Keith was a metaphorical volcano. Some were shitty teens throwing stones, there were also a couple young kids that Keith wanted to punt across the lawn, although he managed to refrain, and more than one old bitty.

What the hell was everyone’s obsession with Keith’s butt?!?!?

However, as time went on Keith did notice one absolutely adorable side-effect… His little puppy learned how to bork when Keith was upset, and directed those _precious_ sounds in the overall direction of the offender. It… really didn’t do very much, and although he _sounded_ fierce, those fluffy little ears simply flopped from side to side with each head tilt.

After a couple of test borks, the puppy would always look up at Keith with such an adorable expression of ‘I did good right Dad?’ that Keith often forgot why he was upset in the first place. Unfortunately it never lasted because soon enough someone new would be harassing Keith’s rear-end.

“You should teach Kosmo how to guard your ass.” Krolia was sipping a beer on her back deck as she watched the puppy run around like a drunk infant as he tried to chase the butterflies.

“That’s not his name, and how would I even do that?!” Keith took a pull of his own drink, shading his eyes from the sun with one hand as he lounged back in one of the deck chairs.

“You better not have told Lance about all this business!”

Keith confided in his mother about everything, and although she teased the hell out of him for his butt-woes, he knew that his mother wouldn’t go spreading that information around.

“If that’s not his name then what is it?” Krolia tilts her head back, eyes closed as she takes in those last few rays of sunshine. She had already been on her second beer when Keith showed up to say hello, finding his very relaxed mother in her backyard.

“He hasn’t told me his name yet…” Keith mumbled under his breath then sighed when Krolia snickered at him. 

“I’m not calling him Kosmo!”

For all his trouble Keith only received a sideways glance from his mother and that knowing smirk like, ‘oh my son you know nothing’ which drove the young man up the wall. Of course he would never admit this to her under any circumstances.

“I just call him puppy…” At the sound of Kosmo’s nickname he spins on a dime, heading towards the deck and subsequently trips over his too-big-for-his-body feet. It was so freaking cute Keith actually pulled out his phone to take a video and was _not_ going to apologize for it.

“Besides… He’s smart and a fast learner… When a rollerblader got too close to me the other day he did this like, half bark half burp thing? So that might have been a potential ass-saving?”

Truth be told it was super bizarre to constantly have to guard his own butt from being pinched or patted, it wouldn’t have been any more weird to teach his puppy to become an ass-guard dog? Keith sighed, contemplating the partial existential crisis he was having and figuring that if he could just get _one_ rage-filled scream out at the next asshole that had the audacity to touch him well… They should just start digging their own grave!

The next morning when Keith took his puppy to the park for a quick run he wasn’t looking to go for a run, in fact, he was dressed in a nicely pressed suit and tie for the interview he had in the afternoon. But there was no way he wouldn’t let the floppy beast get some energy out first! He was a responsible dog owner now after all!

Keith lined up at a little coffee truck that parked on the edge of the large grounds. Normally one for a black coffee, but this morning was already starting to heat up so Keith opted for a nice, cool iced… something. He pointed at an iced option on the board so he could keep a closer eye on his puppy frolicking about nearby.

“Here ya go!” The cheerful blonde handed the drink over to Keith with a smile, one that Keith couldn’t help but return until-

“Look at that beautiful butt wiggle~ Aren’t you just the most gorgeous boy in the entire universe~” A deep voice sounded out from just behind Keith just as the tell-tale signs of his ass being touched followed. That was it.

“What the fuck asshole?!?” Keith spun around, fury bubbling up from the pit of his stomach as he launched the entire contents of his drink into the face of the man crouching down on the ground…

… Playing with a dog…

It was as if time stood still in that moment, Keith’s rage saturated brain working at the speed of light in order to connect those very important dots.

Man kneeling ---> Man talking to his dog ---> GORGEOUS MAN NOT TALKING TO KEITH BUT TO HIS DOG!!!!!!

And to top it all off? The stranger’s dog was still wagging his tail like an adorable windmill… right where Keith’s ass had just been.

Keith got his ass smacked by a happy dog and now his life was over.

“I’m- oh no-” Keith blanched as he spun back around and took handfuls of napkins off of the coffee truck’s shelf, holding them out in front of him and not knowing what the hell to do.

The stranger looked up at Keith with piercing, steel grey eyes and Keith just… Nope he couldn’t do it!

Keith threw the handful of napkins at the man kneeling in front of him and ran. Keith Kogane, one who was not afraid of anything, couldn’t bear to stay after what he had just done. 

With the puppy right on his heels, Keith didn’t stop running until he had made it all the way home, sliding down the wall beside the closed front door and being covered in dog slobber as the puppy tried to calm him down.

“What the hell have I done?”

  
  


\---

  
  


Shiro was still pretty new to this town after ending a long and fruitless relationship, picking up his entire life and leaving everything he had previously known to start all over.

Oh and he got a puppy.

On his way into his new and exciting city Shiro happened to have passed a vet clinic, where there _happened_ to be a picture on the outside wall… of a mop? He was stopped at a red light and the sight of a little poster of a mop on what was clearly a veterinary clinic was very confusing.

Maybe they were looking for someone to hire for cleaning? That would make sense wouldn't it? Except, Shiro had also seen other pictures, ones of dogs and cats, so why was there a mop?!

Well, the buff newcomer wandered into the clinic looking for answers, and wandered back out with an armful of puppy.

To be more specific, Shiro had just adopted an absolutely adorable Komondor puppy, which was also affectionately nicknamed the mop dog. He had always wanted a puppy, and knew that a hell of a lot of time and effort needed to be put into their care… but the second he had laid eyes on that _gorgeous_ face, as the puppy started to waggle his entire body in excitement, well, Shiro was a goner.

So he paid the adoption fee, bought lots of food, supplies and toys of course, scooped everything up and headed back to his car.

The movers were responsible for setting everything up at his new condo, which was thankfully pet friendly, but Shiro had been warned to make sure to give the puppy plenty of exercise and attention in order to avoid bad habits.

So the new pair started a routine to go jogging early every morning, have a casual stroll at lunch time, and another evening run for good measure. Shiro was never one to shirk his exercises, even if he had been given a clean bill of health for the past three years. Besides, this breed _needed_ to be outside running around so what better motivation!

Another plus? Shiro was his own boss, meaning that the puppy could come to work with him! Thankfully no one else seemed to mind… in fact there was often a line up in the break room for 'cuddle time' as employees enjoyed a coffee break and puppy snuggles. Apparently productivity had even increased in the past two weeks Shiro had been bringing the mop to work! So all in all it was a win-win.

"Have you checked out that off-leash dog park a couple blocks away? Might be a good spot for the puppy!" A lovely young man that worked in IT mentioned to Shiro late one afternoon after his keyboard had stopped working. Turned out he had accidentally unplugged it but thankfully this guy only teased him for about 5 minutes.

"No? That sounds great!" Shiro exclaimed happily, looking over at the plush dog bed he had bought, and the napping mop that was sated from lunch time ball throwing.

Shiro had a new plan for tomorrow morning, he wanted to check out this dog park. He wasn't too sure how his over-sized mop would react to other dogs, so it was a good opportunity as well as being nice and close by. Shiro had known about this breed's tendency towards herding, as such the puppy was also pretty docile and non aggressive, but he did enjoy circling around small children to try to move them where _he_ wanted to go. The kids thought it was hilarious that a mop could move on little legs like that, and Shiro, although embarrassed, had received quite a few numbers from single mothers…

So when the _next day_ came, Shiro was all excited and ready to check out this new park. He opted to only wear one of his white button-up shirts that day, seeing as it was a Friday and he didn’t have much to do later.

Shiro didn’t think he had anything to do... Was he forgetting something?

The park was absolutely enormous, with a hiking trail and a little lake full of ducks. An entire section was fenced off just for the off-leash dogs, and a running trail ran around the entire perimetre. Shiro couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear as he walked his puppy around just getting used to the sights and smells before finally diving right in.

“Okay buddy, you can do this! Just relax, you’re gonna make friends in no time at all!” Shiro looked around at the other puppy parents to try to figure out exactly what they were doing. A couple of older ladies even offered to ‘help’ Shiro out… Although he was pretty sure one of them was just trying to touch his butt.

Politely dismissing their help Shiro wandered into the cordoned off space with his puppy in tow. He carefully undid the leash attached to the puppy’s harness, holding on just in case but… most of the other dogs were having fun playing with their owners, a couple were running around in big circles, and one VERY large dog came bounding up towards them.

Shiro was wary, this dog was bigger than his own but seemed friendly enough, even though the floof did look like a wolf of some sort. Shiro nodded to himself more than anyone else, letting go of his puppy’s harness and watching the adorable mop bound off to play with his new friend. The wolf dog, damn his paws were enormous, also had this adorably unbalanced way of leaping about and Shiro wondered if he was also just a puppy!

Well, this was an overall success! Shiro was grinning like some sort of creepy stalker as he called his puppy over and hooked the leash back on. He was beyond ecstatic as they strode over to the little coffee truck just a few feet away and waited in line for something to drink. Shiro kneeled down to praise his good boy, the puppy wagging his entire body with such force he could almost take off flying with the speed his tail was going.

The rest was a blur. One second Shiro was talking to his puppy and the next he was being showered in, hmm, iced coffee? He looked up in shock only to see an absolutely _beautiful_ young man dressed in quite a lovely suit, long black hair pulled back off his face in a ponytail as sweeping bangs framed his sharp features. But those eyes, like molten gemstones, shone almost purple in the morning sunlight and… a fiery rage that burned deep within them. 

Then the fire died as some sort of realization came across this gorgeous strangers face. He sputtered (adorably), spinning around to grab two handfuls of napkins before offering them up to Shiro with such an air of confusion and despair it was almost comical.

Just as Shiro was about to speak, also realizing that some sort of misunderstanding had just happened, and that maybe they could laugh about it over another coffee that wasn’t currently soaking into his shirt… The young man bolted like a stray cat down a dark alleyway.

But even more surprising was just who came bounding after the beautiful man with a fiery temper. That friendly wolf puppy, his own little mop dog’s first friend, ran after the stranger with absolute ease. It made perfect sense now that Shiro thought about it… two exotic creatures truly would fit each other perfectly.

  
  


\---

  
  


Keith would have to flee the Country, yup that was the only thing left that he could do. How on earth had this happened? Had he really been so upset about all the instances of being groped, that he unloaded on an innocent stranger like that? Well, in his defense there were quite a lot of instances… but that still wasn’t any excuse.

Keith had wanted to spend the rest of the morning studying up for the job interview he had that afternoon, but with frazzled nerves he was sure he should just call and cancel. Except no, he really couldn’t do that. Keith had been wanting a new job for a long time, and although he _knew_ that he wasn’t entirely qualified for this job, he needed to at least try. He could do this, just take lots of deep breaths and don’t panic…

Time flew by faster than Keith was really prepared for and soon enough he needed to leave his tiny apartment and face the world.

“Wish me luck Puppy…” He whispered to the fuzzy dog before setting off with a deep sigh. He sort of wanted to take the puppy with him if Keith was being completely honest.

The walk to the offices wasn’t too bad, in fact it was a beautiful day! Yet, Keith could almost _feel_ the dark cloud hanging above his head as he grumbled to himself and trudged forward. He was still hung up on what had happened that morning, what if he saw that man again?! Well, for starters he was going to apologize profusely, maybe offer to pay for his dry cleaning? Could he even afford that? Aw, crap! He had already arrived at the building and was so incredibly unprepared for this interview.

A lovely lady at the front desk greeted Keith and took him upstairs to a small waiting room for interview candidates. There were seven other people as Keith took a seat and was informed that his name would be called when it was his turn to head inside. 

One by one the other people filed in when their names were called, almost all of them leaving with big grins on their faces. What was that all about? Did it really go that well for all of them? Keith was fretting over how much more experienced they all must have been in comparison to his own measly work experience when he was the last to be called.

“Keith Kogane?” A young looking man with brown hair popped his head into the room with a crooked grin, asking for Keith even though he was the only one left. Keith nodded of course, picking up his computer bag and heading over to the door.

“My name is Matthew Holt and I will be conducting a portion of this interview. Although the position will technically be in my department our CEO is directly responsible for all projects.” The man took Keith through a corridor of somewhat busy offices and down the hall. There weren’t many, which Keith had already sort of figured with such a small yet up and coming company, but everyone really seemed… happy.

“Thank you for this opportunity Sir!” Keith had to clear his throat and stay on track as his gaze went back to the man walking in front of him. He laughed, patting Keith on the shoulder as he held open the large door at the end of the hallway.

“We’re always looking for promising young grads like yourself! Here, come on in! Oh, and I forgot to ask but I hope you aren’t allergic to dogs?”

As soon as Keith entered the room his eyeline caught sight of the most glorious and terrifying thing he could have ever imagined. 

The stranger from the park, dressed in an absolutely gorgeous dark grey suit, soft pink button up shirt and a grin from ear to ear, leaning over from his chair to scratch under his dog’s chin. Keith was frozen, unable to move or even comprehend words… That was until the very large mop, that also happened to be a dog, stood from his spot, raced over to Keith at full speed and leapt into his arms without warning.

“Red!!!” The stranger cried out, panic in his voice. When Keith actually _caught_ the dog there was only one way to describe the look in those steel grey eyes.

Wonderment.

“Um… My puppy does this too… I’m used to it…” Keith really couldn’t think of anything else as he stepped further into the room and carefully knelt down to ease the dog back onto the ground.

“I’m-” Keith started to apologize, staring at the ground as he willed himself to become less of a ‘flight’ sort of person, only to be abruptly interrupted.

“Shiro!” The stranger took two huge strides forward, arms out and open as if he were trying to calm a spooked animal.

“I mean… that’s my name? Takashi Shirogane but everyone calls me Shiro… and this is Red!” The stranger, no, Shiro, waved at the puppy that was currently sitting on Keith’s feet and staring up at him like he invented dog treats.

“Red?” Keith’s voice was whisper soft as he looked down at the mop in front of him and wasn’t quite sure where the name came from. A groan reverberated into the room and Keith realized that Mattew Holt was still there!

“Please don’t ask-” He started, but it was too late.

“Red is his nickname! Short for Dread Wringer… cuz he’s a ‘Dead Ringer’ for a mop!” Shiro grinned, so incredibly brilliantly that Keith could have gone blind.

Silence fell over the room as Keith looked down at this puppy, then up at… the other puppy… and burst out laughing.

“Ahahahaha that’s a terrible pun!” Keith couldn’t help himself as he nearly doubled over in laughter, holding his stomach and soon getting puppy kisses all over his face.

“It’s nice to meet you Red,” Keith reached out and scratched those floppy ears, rubbing his hands over dreadlock-like fur with a huge grin on his face.

“And, um, it’s nice to meet you too… Shiro.” 

  
  


\---

Keith had eventually managed to stop laughing long enough to give Shiro a proper apology, but the larger man waved it off as if Keith has merely misspoken and not actually thrown an entire cup of iced coffee in Shiro’s face.

“But-” Keith’s fingers were still tangled in the dog’s fur and Shiro couldn’t help how damn distracted he was at the sight.

“No, really it’s fine~ All just a big misunderstanding… However…” Shiro brought his metal prosthetic up to scratch at the back of his head as he sighed loudly. It caused Keith to frown and no, there was no way he wanted to be the cause of that for even one second.

“Can you leave us alone for a minute Matt?” The buff dog dad looked over at his employee, then to Keith to make sure it was alright. The smaller man nodded, also a bit curious with the situation.

“No probs boss I’ll just be right outside~” Matt gave a little salute and was out the door in a heartbeat.

Shiro felt incredibly _shy_ all of a sudden. So, he waved to his couch, not one of the interview chairs that happened to be positioned on the opposite side of Shiro’s desk. The larger man strode over first and took a seat, perched on the edge of the plush cushion as he waited for Keith to follow.

“Is this one of those ‘Casting Couch’ situations?” Keith walked forward with a grin then stopped dead in his tracks.

“Oh… I can’t believe I just said that!” He really was going to run away and die in an abandoned mine this time! Red, however, had wrapped himself around Keith and was aptly keeping the young man from fleeing.

“No! Oh gods, no, wait, fuck this looks so bad. Oh shit I shouldn’t be swearing either!” Shiro groaned, flopping backwards into the couch with a sigh.

“I’m so sorry, let me start over?” He looked over at the other end of the couch before turning back to Keith and giving him the biggest puppy dog eyes ever.

Of course Keith couldn’t refuse such an absolutely *adorable* man, so he went over to the couch and sat down, turning slightly to tuck one of his legs underneath him and look at Shiro properly. 

“Oh, good!” Shiro mimicked Keith’s position, turning so that he could better see the man sitting beside him.

“Well, unfortunately… we can’t hire you…” He gave Keith a solemn look, upset that such an outcome had to come about.

“Y-you’re resume is quite impressive! And I am quite sure-” Shiro was floundering *just* a bit but thankfully, Keith was right there to step in.

“No, it’s okay Shiro, I already knew I wasn’t qualified since I don’t understand Psr-16 technical analytics… But I wanted to experience a _real_ job interview, um, sorry that’s super rude isn’t it?!” It was Keith’s turn to panic, leaning forward to try and hide his face as he blushed a bright crimson at the admission. 

Just when it seemed as if the two men were doomed to the most awkward of silences… Red took the opportunity to jump up on the couch, circle a few times before plopping down on top of both Keith and Shiro. The two men couldn’t help but grin, casting demure glances up at one another before Shiro finally cleared his throat to speak.

“I, um… Do you want to have a coffee, on me I mean? Well… Maybe not _on_ me this time~” He teased Keith lightly and had to forcefully catch himself from reaching out to gently push those dark bangs to the side so he could see Keith’s eyes even better.

“You want, oh… Ohhh like… A _coffee_ coffee?!” Keith was surprised, shocked even, but to be completely honest he was very glad that Shiro had asked. He also couldn’t help rolling his eyes slightly and giggling when Shiro teased him.

“I’ll let you hold the cups, how's that sound? Did you want me to bring puppy?” Keith was stroking Red’s fur once again, still having trouble looking directly at Shiro for longer than three seconds at a time.

“Puppy? My puppy?” Shiro tilted his head to the side just as the adorable mop dog did the exact same thing. Keith’s heart nearly exploded.

“N-no, my puppy… My mother calls him Kosmo, but… He hasn’t told me his name yet…” Keith whispered the last part, pink blush high up on his cheeks and damn it Shiro _really_ needed to find something to do with his hands!

The two men chatted for a while longer, surprisingly all about puppy care, walking routines, the best recipes for homemade dog treats… Until a knock on the door managed to snap both their attention back. Shiro looked over at the clock.

“It’s already been an hour?!” He went to stand, chuckling awkwardly as he held out a hand to give Keith’s a shake. Instead, Red sat up on the couch and placed his head right in his dad’s open hand.

“Ahahaha you have a very cute puppy there~ Why don’t… we meet tomorrow at the dog park for a coffee, on you of course, and some puppy play?” Keith smiled brilliantly, offering his other hand so that Shiro could still pat Red without disturbing the happy mop dog.

“That sounds wonderful Keith… I-it’s a date!”

  
  


\---

  
  


Epilogue

Keith and Shiro, along with Red and Puppy Kosmo (which Keith reluctantly started calling him) met up at the dog park every morning… Also every afternoon and early evening as well. Soon enough they were also meeting for dinners and outdoor movies, hiking trips and even some sleep overs. Although, Red and Kosmo tended to snuggle up in the livingroom to give their dads some privacy.

But the best thing? Keith never, ever experienced anyone trying to touch his butt ever again. He was convinced it had all just been some sort of strange coincidence the entire time… If only he knew the ‘Protective Aura of Rage-Filled Murder’ that Shiro always exuded when they were in the park together and anyone got too close. Rumours about a mob boss with a mop dog quickly flew around, never quite reaching Keith’s ears so no harm in letting them continue, right?

  
  


The End


End file.
